From Madrid, we travel by train to Seville, which was once the opulent capital of the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus, and now the place of fiestas and  flamenco...

We check into a charming boutique hotel with a patio. In Islamic architecture, water plays an important part. In an open patio there is always a source of running water traditionally for ritual washings, but also for decoration.

Seville is the capital of Andalucia in the southwest corner of Spain, and probably one of its most romantic cities. It makes you feel as though you've stepped into a lavish production of Bizet's Carmen.

After check-in, we walk a couple of blocks to the Catedral de la Macarena which houses the venerated holy image of the "Virgen de la Macarena". The surrounding religious imagery is just breathtaking...

Just outside the cathedral, is the meeting point for tourists who party from afternoon till the wee hours.

We wander through the winding lanes, grazing the walls to stay in the shade, to reach La Giralda, a monument to Christian glory (it is undecided whether it is the largest church in the world when measured against St Peter's in Rome and  St Paul's in London). This massive Gothic edifice took more than a century to build on the site of the Almohad mosque, of which only a minaret remains. 

We climb to the top level of the Giralda to have a bird's eye view of the city.

The interior of the cathedral is awe inspiring and contains some marvelous artworks such as gigantic sculpted organs, gilded panels, glittering icons, and intricately carved altarpieces.

We feel humbled in front of such grandiose workmanship...

Today we explore the Moorish Alcazar palace, which has been occupied by the city’s rulers since Roman times. The palace was built by the Moors in the 7th century, and had been altered by successive occupants ever since. One of the sultans reputedly enlarged the building to accommodate his harem of 800 women and decorated the terraces with flowers planted in the skulls of his decapitated enemies.

We step on white marble floor, admiring  the carving on the walls, the interlacing arcades, the intricately sculpted doors, the elaborate azulejos tiles... We walk through the Almohad wall's arch to find a beautiful rectangular court "The Patio de las Doncellas" with a reflecting pool flanked by sunken gardens on either side. We notice that there are not many Asian tourists at this time of the year...

When we would later visit the Alhambra in Grenada, we find many similarities in architecture and workmanship: indeed Muslim artists and craftsmen from Grenada helped to build the Alcazar...

Both monuments pay tribute to the highly sophisticated Islamic culture of the time...

We briefly visit La Casa de Pilatos, considered as the prototype of the Andalusian palace. The building is a mixture of Renaissance Italian and Mudejar Spanish styles.

By then, our feet are very much in need of a good rest and we return to the hotel to freshen up before going out to dinner.

Upon friends' recommendation, we have dinner at La Taberna del Alabardero, located in a 19th century townhouse and furnished with European antiques and oil paintings. It was established as a training ground for young unemployed people. We so enjoy the menu which included black rice risotto, roasted duck breast, grilled fish, and desserts, that we decide to return for lunch the next day, unfortunately, the lunch food offering is rather disappointing. 

In the heat of the afternoon, we seek refuge in the Alcazar royal gardens, adorned with fountains and pavilions. The beautiful and ornate garden full of flowers and streams is divided into different parts, some are influenced by the almohade architectural style of the Moors from the 12th century, and others are modeled after the English gardens of the 18th Century.

It's a haven of serenity...

In the afternoon, we stroll to the Guadalquivir River and get lost in the shopping labyrinth of downtown Seville.

At night we enjoy the tapas scene. Tapas means "lids" or "covers" in Spanish, referring to their origin as snacks served in small plates used to cover wine glasses from flies. We typically would order local specialties such as fried squid, cuttlefish, sardines and shrimp tortillas, with a good bottle of wine.